赞美母亲的英文演讲稿Columbine parents praise essay by mom of shooter DENVER — Parents andsurvivors of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School are saying good thingsabout an essay released Tuesday by the mother of shooter Dylan Klebold. SusanKlebold made the most detailed public remarks by any parent of the twoColumbine killers in an essay published in O, The Oprah Magazine. She said inthe essay she had “no inkling” her son was suicidal or depressed. The essaysparked strong emotions for Connie Michalik, whose son, RichardCastaldo, wasshot and partially paralyzed in the rampage. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harriskilled 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 others before killingthemselves. The shooters’ parents have said little in public since themassacre. They gave depositions in a lawsuit filed by victims’ families, but ajudge in 2007 ordered those depositions sealed for 20 years aing” her son wassuicidal or depressed. The essay sparked strong emotions for Connie Michalik,whose son, Richard Castaldo, was shot and partially paralyzed in the rampage.Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23others before killing themselves. The shooters’ parents have said little inpublic since the massacre. They gave depositions in a lawsuit filedbyvictims’ families, but a judge in 2007 ordered those depositions sealed for 20years after the case was settled out of court. Survivors and their familieshave been left wondering about the boys’ parents in the decade since theshootings. “You know, I always wondered how she felt and what she wentthrough. ‘Cause I know I went through a living hell, and I was always sure shedid, too,” Michalik told The Associated Press. Michalik, who has never metSusan Klebold, said reading the essay answered some of her questions about theKlebold family. “I applaud her for the courage to talk about this,” Michaliksaid Tuesday. In the essay, Susan Klebold described the day of the shooting.She at first feared Dylan had been shot at school, not that he was one of theperpetrators. Susan Klebold said the family was evacuated from their home theafternoon of the massacre because authorities feared even Dylan’sresidencemay have been rigged to explode. Still, she said, it took months forrelativesto accept that the quiet boy who loved origami and Legos was to blame for theviolence. “We didn’t know that he and Eric had assembled an arsenal ofexplosives and guns,” Susan Klebold wrote. “We believed his participation inthe massacre was accidental or that he had been coerced. We believed that hedid not intend to hurt anyone.” The magazine released excerpts from the essaylast week and published the full text Tuesday. A magazine spokeswoman saidSusan Klebold has turned down several interview requests over the years butagreed several months ago to share an essay. There were no plans for her toappear on the show. In an introduction to the essay, Oprah Winfrey toldreaders, “Since the day her son participated in the most devastating highschool shooting America has ever seen, I have wanted to sit down with SusanKlebold to ask her the questions we’ve all wanted to ask — starting with, ‘Howdid you not see it coming?’ and ending with ‘How did you survive?’” Aspokeswoman for Susan Klebold has said there would be no further comment. Oneof the shooting’s survivors, Krystal Miller, said Tuesday she has long hadquestions for the Klebolds but understood their silence. “Over the years Iwould’ve loved to hear something,” said Miller, whose maiden name was KrystalWoodman. “But it sounds like she is still just reeling from it and processingit. So how is someone supposed to come out and give answers when they’re stilltrying to figure it out themselves?”
